In an earlier post I talked about how Sharon’s unilateral withdrawel plan is an example of “Israbluf” - viz. the extraordinary capacity for Israeli governments to say one thing and do the opposite. Meron Benvinisti points out that while Bush and Sharon talk about “two states,” eveything they are doing guarantees that there will be one binational state in Israel/Palestine.
“When U.S. President George W. Bush indulged in references about an historic event as he defined the separation plan, he wasn’t exaggerating, even if it is not clear that he grasped the implications of his words regarding the future of the Jewish state. Nor did the Palestinians err when they compared his declaration to the Balfour Declaration, even if they perhaps failed to grasp that the statement is liable to have implications yet more grave than the 1917 pledge, and will compel a substantive strategic change in their struggle. And Ariel Sharon - crowned by victory and convinced that he has unveiled a daring new initiative which will foil all schemes - will be surprised to discover that in Washington he was pushed into embracing an accelerated process of founding the State of Israel as a binational state based on Apartheid.”
The same point was made by al the speakers at the recent Israel Forum event, where Tony Judt was the main speaker.
What all the speakers stressed was the following: It doesn’t matter whether or not one thinks a one state solution is the best alternative or a great disaster. Israel’s refusal to relinquish the settlement project in its entirety, guarantees that a two state solution will never happen. The only possible alternative then, is one state.
If anyone had any doubts of the truth of this argument, then the near farcical collapse of Sharon’s “bold” initiative should be final proof. The vast majority of Israelis want out of Gaza, and yet Sharon can’t even manage to get rid of a few settlements there. “Gaza First” is a foolish dream. It is either all or nothing. And the majority of Israelis have not yet assimilated that point. They still believe partial solutions are possible.
In fact, Sharon’s collapse in the face of internal opposition, Israbluf in its purest form, indicates that Israel may have already reached the point where the dismantlement of the settlement project is impossible. As Benvinisti pointed out in earlier article, the question may not be whether or not, but rather which kind of binational state.
